Benwell Lad

Even a poor Michael Owen is better than most of the others we've got at the minute. So true. He still has class and is a level ahead of some of those he's currently playing with. He had a good game against Blackburn, somehow failed to score and ends up on the receiving end of another press frenzy. Newcastle United 2007/2008 has not really suited Owen's game but put him in a side which is doing well and he'll score for fun. Still our most likely (possibly only) matchwinner.

Yeah it's very strange that Keegan, who has not spent a penny and has had to take over someone else's problems, is so castigated by the press while the muppet down the road has spent £40M plus on a team which is STILL below us and seems to get away without criticism.

The press are being very very gentle on him for whatever reason.

Not that he has created a winning team or anything but is now whinging that Sunderland have not had a single decision in thier favour this season. Is this something he picked up from Ferguson to try and get in the mind of officials ? A theoretical league table which includes proven referee's mistakes, not merely disputed ones , shows Sunderland second bottom and Newcastle somewhere in mid table. So it looks like you've had your fair share of refereeing favours Mr.Keane. Especially at the Stadium of Light. Perhaps he missed the equaliser at Birmingham where his forward had the keeper pinned to the floor as the ball was put in and perhaps he missed what was the worst malicious tackle of the season which Bardsley commited on an Everton player last week and got a mere yellow card. Come to think of it, as a man who openly admitted to ending a fellow pro's career with a pre meditated nasty tackle maybe he thinks that kind of thing is OK.

Could be worse monkey - you could be a macum. Imagine that eh ? They're even worse than us and their manager has spent a fortune on players too - unlike Keegan - and he's supposed to be doing a good job ??

We've had some sub standard defenders recently but this kid is the worst of all. If he gets an improved contract his agent really could sell ice cream to Eskimos.

Thanks. I'm not sure thats the answer I wanted to hear but it's probably the truth.

I agree. How can one person own a club it's almost like saying someone "owns" a religion or a political organisation, and yet today Messrs Abramovich, Glazer etc are called the owners of their clubs.

Yes but with milk or anything else rational comes into the eqauation. If your car doesn't live up to expectation you would change to something else next time. We can't do that with our football team, like "oh it's been a bad season - I'm changing to Arsenal next year" We're stuck with Newcastle. Many continental teams are real "clubs", the members (supporters) vote on key decisions and they have been very successful with that kind of set up. I think that the modern English way is sort of perverse, where an individual owns a football club. What is a football club ? Can it be just a rich mans posession ? I guess the answer nowadays is yes. Hasn't it more or less always been this way in Britain though? Just these days the clubs are worth more. Dunno but I guess the fact that they are called "clubs" probably means that they once were ran by members.

Yes but with milk or anything else rational comes into the eqauation. If your car doesn't live up to expectation you would change to something else next time. We can't do that with our football team, like "oh it's been a bad season - I'm changing to Arsenal next year" We're stuck with Newcastle. Many continental teams are real "clubs", the members (supporters) vote on key decisions and they have been very successful with that kind of set up. I think that the modern English way is sort of perverse, where an individual owns a football club. What is a football club ? Can it be just a rich mans posession ? I guess the answer nowadays is yes.

Recent press speculation (well fabrication actually) about selling Newcastle United made me wonder, in a philosophical way, who really owns our club ? No doubt that Mike Ashley holds the deeds and in the process of acquiring them made the previous "owners" extremely wealthy (or wealthier) men based on the price he had to pay them for "their club". Let's face it for a generation now, Newcastle United has been about little other than it's supporters. Any accolades received have been about the consistent level of fanatical support the club received and huge attendances guaranteed. It is this, totally dis-proportionate to playing success, support which fuels the revenue machine that amazingly keeps us in the world's top 15 richest club list. It has nothing to do with playing success or the way the club is ran. In the real bad old days, if the diehard supporters turned away from the club it would have ceased to be, without those supporters there was nothing. So those of us who suffered but stayed with them provided the base from which this huge revenue organisation eventually rose. We did our bit while those who played for and ran the club consistently did not. So when the Halls and Shepherds and others raise a glass of Dom Perignon to toast their huge windfalls and indeed any future "owner" realises a profit from the sale of the club they "own", let them think about us - the real owners of the club - the people who made their asset worth what it is in today's market. But don't expect a seat in the director's box any time soon.

Once again just a pile of regurgatated drivel. More crass lazy journalism from the macum slappa. She's so far up Kean her strap on must be near worn out.

Wonder if anyone reads "Northern Ventures Northern Gains" the excellent Northern League magazine. They carried an article about Sunderland playing against Norton and Stocton Ancients in the Durham Senior Cup, at Eppleton's ground and how they treat the non league opposition with contempt, providing no hospitality etc and then billed them a ridiculous stewarding cost of nearly £800 for a game which attracted a crowd of 300. In contrast, the article said, Newcastle always switch their Northumberland Senior Cup ties to give the the non league side a good pay day from a much bigger than normal crowd and ask for no expenses. Maybe you have to read the grass roots publications to hear the real truth. Don't suppose Louise will be picking up on this one and running it in the Gaurdian ?

If we do go down then I guess we should be thankful that Ashley has removed the huge burden of debt the previous administration had built up and that he will have deep enough pockets to ensure we come back. Had this happened with the previous regime in place then it would have been the end of NUFC as we have grown to know it over the last 15 years or so and back to the dark old days of the 70s and 80s. I would recommend that from Ashley and Mort through to the fans we keep our nerve and show solid support to the team over the coming nerve wracking weeks. There are still (amazingly) seven teams worse off than us as things stand today.

I agree with the Faye bit.

Well said SM. We really DO need to stick with the team. Anyone getting on the back of an individual player is adding to the confidence crisis they're suffering and putting another nail in the coffin. We need to support them more than ever in the nervous times between now and the end of the season.

Taylor was woeful again yesterday- not because he had a bad game but because that is as much as he is capable of. Get rid I say especially if anyone out there is prepared to pay serious money for him - although I doubt that very much.

I wish Eduardo all the best for a complete recovery and like most people I admire Arsenal as a club, BUT is this the first ever broken leg in the history of football ? You'd think so judging by the amount of coverage it receives. Some lower league or non league player will sustain the same injury and it'll never be mentioned and probably cause the lad serious financial hardship.

Unbelievable though it may seem, there are still f*ckwits who believe this stuff http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=313081

Sadly, the once precious freedom of press we enjoyed has been reduced to nothing more than a license to print malicious untruths, conjecture and hearsay. Many present day journalists are a disgrace to those who fought for the freedoms they enjoy. It's a shame that there are people prepared to employ these lie mongerers, and a shame too that some people actually pay to read it.

Erm, what about Bolton? Or Villa? When the f*** will we stop pretending that we can ognore the beatings off bigger teams, whilst making up other excuses for our peers - and inferiors - also humbling us?? We took 4 points off Bolton monkey. You must have missed that. Still despite having our worst ever premiership season we're still above that rabble down the road eh ? If it wasn't for them breaking all kinds of records (again) we could be in the s***. That should cheer you up, does it ? Did you see the Bolton home game? Was that good enough for you? Oh, aye, i'm over the moon that we are JUST above SUnderland in the league table. Thats exactly what I expect from a club with our support, resources, infrastructure etc. If you're not happy with the present situation Monkey - then imagine how most us us on here must feel ! Why would a bunch of predominantly non-Geordies feel any worse than me? Perhaps THEY support Newcastle.

Yeah probably. But England played for Wales and Sunderland played for Arsenal. ...and Scotland played in Scotland. Denmark played for Newcastle and Brazil didn't play for Brazil.

Bit like Roy Keane then. When he played for ManU I know someone who visited his house (kids at same school or something) and they said it smelled like puke. Pikey tw*ts.

Yeah probably. But England played for Wales and Sunderland played for Arsenal.

Does there come a point where football ceases to function as a realistic sport as these "prostitute" clubs totally dominate their national leagues and in turn European and international competition ? Already clubs like Manchester United seem to be favoured by the powers that be at FA and PL levels. On Saturday, even as they totally outclassed us, it was difficult not to see the referee favouring them in crucial decisions. This probably began when Keane and Co. were under orders to harangue referees over every decision that went against them. Salex seems to have Rooney and Ferdinand continuing the tradition from what I saw and the manager himself does it at a higher level off the pitch. Referees and Associations ARE swayed by this continued and orchestrated assertive behaviour. As money starts to absolutely rule the sport can the dominance of a few teams ever be reversed ? Do the marketing people and the rulers of football ever want it to be? I doubt it. Everyone keeps telling us we've "never won f*ckall" will we be happy to follow a game where we may NEVER will win f*ckall ? (ignore the double negative - we know what they mean) Along with Notts Forest, Sheff Wed and eighty odd other English league clubs will we be be happy to see our role as being merely plucky cannon fodder in some team's annual routine of taking all the trophies and increasing their share value ? Maybe it will be all about business in the future and success will be an operating profit rather than a trophy. Perhaps the powers that be and the men who control the marketing rights will be happy just to see legions of customers worldwide subscribing to the most successful brands and watching the sterility of all too predictable leagues and competitions. American sport has tried to address these problems with their draft process ( Although I don't pretend to really understand it ) and rugby by capping teams budgets to stop money dictating everything. I doubt football will change because they (FIFA, UEFA, PL and marketing people) don't have any desire to change it as that would upset the billion dollar revenues they enjoy. If football survives this change of ethos, then brace yourselves lads and lasses for your children or grandchildren wearing ManU or Real Madrid shirts (over my dead body !). In the meantime enjoy what little competition remains.